How to Deep Fry Rice

Set aside several cups of cooked short-grain or brown rice for your deep-frying recipe. If you don’t have time to cool the rice in the refrigerator overnight, spread it out on a cookie sheet and allow it to air dry until it reaches room temperature.

Dry the rice additionally, if needed for your recipe. Press the cooked rice down with a spatula, until it is about 1/2 inch deep, onto a dry, heated griddle or pan to lightly toast each side. If you need completely dry cooked rice, place the sheet in a low, 275-degree Fahrenheit oven until it's dry enough for your recipe -- for as long as 1 hour.

Shape and season the cooled rice if required for your recipe. For example, Italian arancini rice balls need to be shaped by hand into orange-sized balls, stuffed with mozzarella and seasoned with flour, egg, breadcrumbs and Parmesan. For Korean deep-fried rice, toast thin slabs of cooled rice about the size of waffles on each side on a hot griddle.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or tall-sided pan until it reaches around 325 degrees Fahrenheit, as measured by a deep-frying or candy thermometer. Deep-fry the rice pieces one at a time, leaving plenty of room around each, until they are crispy and golden-brown. Drain them on absorbent paper towels.